UNITED STATES
ABC News
By MICHAEL ROTHMAN
Mar 1, 2016
After “Spotlight” took home the Oscar for Best Picture on Sunday night, Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, who currently serves as the Archbishop of Boston, addressed the impact he believes the film and its real-life investigation have had on the Catholic Church and the victims of abuse.
O’Malley called “Spotlight” an important film “for all impacted by the tragedy of clergy sexual abuse.”
He then addressed the real story behind the movie, the investigation by the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team and the articles that were published, starting in 2002, that broke the story wide open and raised awareness about the abuse all over the world. In the film, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton and others portray the Spotlight team and show how the team was able to expose what Cardinal O’Malley admits were “crimes” against children.
“By providing in-depth reporting on the history of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, the media led the Church to acknowledge the crimes and sins of its personnel and to begin to address its failings, the harm done to victims and their families and the needs of survivors,” the Cardinal said in a statement to ABC News. “In a democracy such as ours, journalism is essential to our way of life. The media’s role in revealing the sexual abuse crisis opened a door through which the Church has walked in responding to the needs of survivors.”
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